Winding machine



Patented Feb, 20, 1934 UNITED STATES WINDING MACHINE I v Robert L. Brunet,

Pawtucket, and ford, R. L, assignors,

Delaware Providence, Henry Bracewell, Frederick A. Jenckes, Wickby mesne assignments, to Manville Jenckes Corporation,

a corporation of Application March 24, 1930. Serial No. 438,344

'1 Claims. (01. 242-18) The present invention relates to winding machines.

The primary object of the invention is to provide a winding machine having new and useful features which adapt it for winding from a loosely compacted hollow thread mass without snarling or breaking the thread.

. phurizing, bleaching, etc.

More specifically, it is one object of the present invention to provide a novel and improved winding machine which is particularly adapted for winding rayon thread from the cake which has been processed to remove the impurities and bring the thread to its commercial form.

,With these objects in view, the several features of the invention consist in the devices, combinations, and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, which, together with the advantages to be obtained thereby, will be readilyunderstood by one skilled in the art from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view of a winding machine embodying the several features of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the cake with the inserted wrappings in position; and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the collapsible band to be inserted inside of the cake.

In the manufacture of rayon thread by the pot spinning process, the thread, as it comes from the coagulating bath, is built up into cake form in a centrifugal pot. Before the thread is ready for use, it is necessarily subjected to a number of processing operations, such as washing, desul- The illustrated machine is particularly constructed and arranged for winding rayon thread which has been subjected to the several processing operations required and is brought to the machine for winding still in the form of the original cake. I

Due principally to the removal of the impurities carried over from the coagulating bath and also to the chemical changes wrought in the thread itself during the processing operations, the cake during the processing operations above referred to is reduced to approximately one-fourth of its original weight and the threads originally built up in the pot into a tightly compacted mass are left in the form of a loose coil which conforms roughly to the truncated cone shape of the original cake. Considerable difliculty has been encountered in winding from thethread mass produced in this manner partly due to the light and frail nature of the threads which are hard tohandie and easily broken, and due partly to the tendency of the threads to become displaced with consequent snarling and breaking of the threads.

In order to meet these difficulties, a support has been devised which acts to hold the hollow thread mass extended in the shape of a truncated cone conforming substantially to the shape of the original cake and further acts to prevent the displacing and consequent snarling of the threads. The support and the cooperating thread guides are also arranged to draw the thread from the thread mass for winding with a minimum of strain on the thread and in such a manner as to prevent possible snarling and it is drawn off of the thread mass.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the frame of a universal winding machine of ordinary construction is generally indicated at 4 and is provided with a vertical stanchion 6 on which are mounted the supports for the cake and the guiding and tensioning devices for drawing the thread from the cake for winding. The support for the cake comprises a vertical spindle 10 which is rigidly secured to a support 12 on the lower portion of the stanchion 6. A support or platform 14 is mounted to slide onthe spindle 10 and is held yieldingly in a raised position by means of a coinpression spring 16 coiled about the lower portion of the spindle between the support 14 and the supporting bracket 12. On the spindle 10 above the platform 14 there is also provided a circular expander disk or member 18 which is rigidly secured to the spindle 10 and is adapted to cooperate with a collapsible band 20 which assumes the shape of a truncated cone and conforms roughly to the shape of the inner surface of the cake. In placing a new cake in position, the collapsible band 20 is first placed within the cake and these parts are then pushed down over the top of the spindle so that the expander disk 18 coming in contact with the band20 causes the band 20 and.the cake 8 supported thereon to be stretched to their fullest extent to the cone shape above described. As the band 20 and cake 8 are depressed, the lower edges of the band and of the cake will engage with the yielding platform 14 to maintain these parts in their, true relation on the spindle. A cover plate 22 or disk which is weighted sufliciently for the purpose is now placed over the top of the spindle 10 and bears against spring band 20 to hold these parts in position.

As shown in the drawing, each cake which is placed in the machine is provided with two wrappings or covers 24 which are inserted through the cake and folded over the outside prior to the processing operations in order to support and protect the threads in their relative positions in handling the cakes and to enable the cakes readily to be opened out into their cylindrical shapes at the end of the processing operations. During the winding from the cakes onto spools or quills with the machine herein disclosed, these wrappings 24 are left in position in contact with the inner walls of the cakes to serve as additional supports to prevent displacement or tangling of the threads. When the cake is placed on the spindle, as above described, and before the cover 22 is put in place,

breakage of the thread as the upper end of the the lower edges of the wrappings are rolled down and the upper edges are turned in over the upper edge of the collapsible band 20, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

The thread is led from the thread mass to a pigtail guide 26 located directly above the spindle 10, through a customary wash board tension 29, through the thread guide 30 and pulley 32 mounted on the spring take-up 34, and from there to the quill 36 on which the thread is being wound. The quill is driven in the usual manner from a source of power, roughly indicated by the belt pulley 38, to draw the thread positively off from the stationary thread mass.

In winding light threads from the cake as above described, it has been found impossible to cause the thread drawn upwardly through the pigtail guide 26 to be ballooned outwardly by its own weight a sufiicient amount to prevent snarling and consequent breakage of the thread as it is drawn off from the thread mass. To obviate this difiiculty, the cover 22 has been constructed in the form of a circular disk having a diameter sufficiently greater than the outer diameter of the upper end of the cake so that the thread being drawn oir from the thread mass through the pigtail guide 26 must necessarily be carried away from the surface of the cake at an angle as the thread passes over the periphery of the cover 22.

The invention having been described, what is claimed is: 4

i. In a winding machine, the combination with means for winding thread, of a device for supporting a cake of rayon thread having the shape substantially of a truncated cone from which the thread is to be wound comprising a vertically arranged spindle, a spring pressed platform slidably mounted on the spindle, an expander member rigidly secured to the spindle above the said platform, a collapsible band adapted to cover substantially the whole inner surface of the cake acting when placed over the expander member to expand the cake to substantially the shape of a truncated cone, a disk-shaped member fitted on r the spindle above the cone having a diameter greater than the outside diameter of the upper end of the cone, and a thread guide through which the thread is drawn for winding from the cake located directly above the spindle.

2. In a winding machine, the combination with means for winding thread, of a device for supporting a hollow thread mass from which the thread is wound comprising a vertically arranged spindle, a platform on which the thread mass is supported mounted to slide on the spindle, means for holding the platform yieldingly in raised position, an expander member secured to the spindle above the platform, a collapsible band adapted to cover substantially the entire inner surface of said hollow thread mass acting when placed over the expander member to support the thread mass, and a thread guide through which the thread is drawn for winding from the cake located directly above the sindle.

3. In a winding machine, the combination with means for winding thread from a hollow thread mass having the shape substantially of a truncated cone, of a device for supporting the thread mass comprising a vertically arranged spindle, a platform on the spindle for supporting the thread mass, an expander disk on the spindle above the platform, an expansible band adapted to cover the inner surface of said hollow thread mass and movably relatively to the expander disk to maintain the thread mass extended in the shape of a truncated cone, a member on the spindle overlying the thread mass to hold the parts in position, and a thread guide through which the thread is drawn for winding from the cake located directly above the spindle.

4. In a winding machine, the combination with means for winding thread from a hollow thread mass, of a device arranged to receive and support said mass comprising a spindle, a collapsible band having the shape of a truncated cone adapted when expanded to engage with substantially the entire inner surface of the thread mass, an expander disk on the spindle, and a positioning member on the spindle arranged to engage with the smaller end of said cone-shaped band and movable relatively to said expander disk to cause said band to be engaged and expanded over said expander disk to engage with and support the thread mass in a substantially circular position.

5. In a winding machine, the combination with means for winding thread from a hollow mass, of a device arranged to receive and support said mass comprising a vertical spindle, an expander disk secured to the spindle, a collapsible band having the shape of a truncated cone adapted when expanded to engage with substantially the entire inner surface of the thread mass, and a weighted positioning member slidably mounted on the spindle arranged to engage with and yieldingly depress the small upper end of said cone shaped band to cause said hand to be engaged and expanded over said expander disk to support the thread mass in a substantially circular po sition.

6. In a winding machine, the combination with means for winding thread from a hollow thread mass having the shape of a truncated cone, of a device for supporting said mass comprising a vertical spindle, a circular expander disk secured to the spindle, a collapsible band having the shape of a truncated cone adapted when expanded to engage with substantially the entire inner surface of the thread mass, a thread guide through which the thread is drawn for winding located above the thread mass, and a positioning member slidably mounted on the spindle having a diameter larger than the outside diameter oi the upper end of the cone to guide the thread away from the thread mass, and arranged to yieldingly depress the band to cause said band to be engaged and expanded over said expander disk to support the thread mass in a substantially circular position.

7. In a winding machine, the combination with means for winding thread from a hollow mass, of a device arranged to receive and support said mass comprising a verticaP spindle, a circular expander member secured to the spindle, a collapsible band having the shape of a truncated cone adapted when expanded to engage with substantially the entire inner surface of the thread mass, and a weighted positioning member slidably mounted on the spindle arranged to engage with the small upper end of the cone-shaped band to 'clamp the band and thread mass supported thereon in a substantially circular position on said expander member.

ROBERT L. BRUNET.

HENRY BRACEWELL.

FREDERICK A. JENCKES.

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